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Lasting Impressions
'''Lasting Impressions 'is the eleventh episode of Season 2 of [[The Orville|''The Orville]]. When the crew of the [[USS Orville|USS Orville]] opens a time capsule from the year 2015, Helmsman Gordon Malloy makes an unexpected friend, while Second Officer Bortus and Klyden dabble in Old Earth cigarettes. The episode was written by creator Seth MacFarlane and directed by Kelly Cronin, who also directed ''New Dimensions'''' in Season 1. Actress Leighton Meester guest stars as Laura Huggins and actor Tim Russ makes a special guest appearance as Doctor Sherman. Music was composed by John Debney. Teaser A day before the episode aired, 20th Century Fox released a music video of Leighton Meester performing a cover of "That's All I've Got to Say." The video composites camera shots that are different from what is seen in the episode to minimize Malloy's presence. Plot summary Act One The episode opens with the crew of the [[USS Orville|USS ''Orville]] opening a 400 year old time capsule from 2015. Commander Kelly Grayson promises to deliver them to a museum on Earth. Lieutenant Talla Keyali dons a cap while Lieutenant Commander Bortus asks about cigarettes. Dr Claire Finn explains to Bortus that people were addicted to nicotine and died from cancer. Lieutenant Gordon Malloy takes an interest in an old Apple iPhone. The anthropologist Dr. Sherman explains that the writing is so degraded that they are unable to read it. Lieutenant Commander John LaMarr volunteers the services of the Orville’s engineering team. Act Two Later, Malloy, LaMarr, and Yaphit discuss ways of decrypting the iPhone. Malloy is frustrated they can't access the phone but LaMarr says they are approaching it from a 25th century perspective and launches an old school binary filter. They manage to activate the phone but can't access the keypad. Yaphit then advises them to turn off the phone and turn it on again. They find that it work. Malloy and LaMarr find that the phone contains messages. They also discover a video recording by a young woman named Laura Higgins. She explains that she decided to put her old iPhone into the time capsule instead of throwing it away. Laura tells them they can read her text, emails, and pictures as a historical memory. She speculates that they have flying cars. Malloy develops a soft spot for the long-dead Laura. Dr Sherman is impressed with Commander LaMarr's work in decrypting the phone. LaMarr explains that he upgraded its storage capacity. Dr Sherman believes that finds like this will help them find out who the people were since ancient media records only kept what the people wanted to preserve. Sherman talks about the nuances of 21st century communication. Gordon comments that Laura was like the glue that held her friends together and takes an interest in her. Lieutenant Keyali takes the anthropologist away to meet with Commander Grayson to review data procedures for cargo docking. After the anthropologist leaves the room, Gordon stays in the room. Act Three Meanwhile, Bortus uses the simulator to create a cigarette. Klyden says the aroma smells pleasing and proceeds to eat it. Bortus tells him it is not for eating and explains that they are suppose to inhale the smell. Klyden and Bortus are mesmerized by the cigarettes and order 500 cigarettes. Act Four Gordon enters the environmental simulator and asks the computer if it can upload the contents of the Apple iPhone. The environmental simulator at first declines until Gordon tells her it is a cellular phone. Gordon tells the computer he wants to know who this woman was and what her life was like. The environment simulator creates a simulation of a young adult party in 21st century America. Gordon finds Laura and her friends drinking vodka. Laura takes notice of Gordon and introduces him to Trisha. Gordon claims that he lost a bet with Lorenzo and had to come her in pajamas. Laura serves Gordon some beer and tells him that she had just moved to this place after experiencing a breakup. She tells Gordon that she is a sales manager at Macy's but that she doesn't like the job. Laura says that she has a passion for music but that she would have starved to death if she pursued it. Gordon tells her that he is a commercial pilot. Laura says she has a fear of flying. Laura invites Gordon for a gig at a pub on Tuesday. Gordon accepts it. Gordon tells LaMarr that the environmental simulation of Laura's world was very vivid and real. He explains that it was built around her thoughts and her life. LaMarr asks if Dr Sherman knows about it. Gordon says he didn't tell him but put back the phone. Gordon says that experiencing the environmental simulation is more real than studying images of the 21st century world. LaMarr warns him that it seems real but that it is a computer simulation. Meanwhile, Captain Mercer and Commander Grayson are reading a USA Today newspaper. Mercer is perplexed that they are devoting more coverage to teeth whitening than to a looming climate crisis. Grayson says it is a miracle that the human race survived. Lieutenant Keyali calls Grayson to the bridge to deal with Bortus' newly acquired smoking habit. Grayson sends him off early. Act Five Later, Gordon enters the environmental simulator where he finds Laura singing with her band inside a bar. Gordon watches Laura playing a ukulele while singing the lyrics of Art Garfunkel's That's All I've Got to Say. Later, Laura chats with Gordon about her work. Gordon is impressed by her music and thinks she should consider a musical career. Laura says she is not interested in wealth but that she wants to be remembered for something. Gordon tells her she is the real deal. Laura invites him to sing with her. He asks her what happened with her last relationship. Laura says that she had tried giving Greg a chance. Gordon says that Barry is the name of his dad and that his dad builds toy space stations. She says that her former boyfriend was passionate but was irresponsible, unable to hold down a job, and never interested in being an adult. As much as they loved each other, she got tired of paying for dinner. Gordon confides that where he comes from people tells him he doesn't know how to shut up. He tells her that she is one of a kind. When Laura asks, he tells her she is from New Jersey and gives him her number. She invites him from a game night and asks him to bring his friends. Gordon claims he left his number and that he will get in touch with her. Later, Gordon tries to get his simulator to create a 21st century iPhone similar to Laura’s phone. Gordon sends an iMessage to Laura and messages her. Act Six Meanwhile, Lieutenant Keyali tells Captain Mercer, Commander Grayson, and Lieutenant Commander LaMarr that the museum had requested a class three cargo transfer for the capsule. LaMarr adds that the museum has requested technical support for the phone. Grayson agrees to lend any hand they can spare. Just then, Gordon enters the room and invites him for a party. He explains that it is Laura Huggins, the girl from the phone. He explains that he uploaded all of her personal data from the phone into the ship’s computer and was able to create a simulated version of Laura, her life, and her world. He tells her that he has been spending time with her. He tells them that she was a special person and invites them to come to Simulator 2 at 1700 hours. In private, the command crew discuss Gordon's situation. Captain Mercer and Commander Grayson then go and attend to Bortus and Klyden's cigarette addiction. Captain Mercer orders them to go to sickbay. Act Seven At the sick bay, Dr Finn assesses Bortus and Klyden. She determines that the Boclan physiology is extremely susceptible to nicotine addiction. When Grayson asks if there is a precedent for this, Dr Finn says that nobody on Earth or Moclus has smoked for hundreds of years and that this is new territory. Bortus asks if they are in any danger. After questioning them, Dr Finn determines that their cigarette addiction has gotten the better of them. Captain Mercer asks if she can treat them with an injection but Dr Finn says that she has to formulate one , which may take days, weeks, or months. Dr Finn recommends that Topa stay her sons Ty and Marcus for the next few days. She tells Bortus and Klyden they have to work together to stop smoking. Act Eight Later, Gordon, the bridge crew, and Laura's friends take part in a drawing game in the environmental simulator. Laura and her friends don't understand Gordon's drawings of Julius Caesar and salads. Mercer, Grayson, LaMarr, and Keyali say goodbye to Laura and her friends and leave the environmental simulator. They are dressed in 21st century clothes. In private, Gordon and Laura chat about the pictures game. Gordon admits not knowing what Julius Caesar looked like. Laura asks Gordon if he can make her not afraid of flying. Gordon explains how turbulence protects her and the plane by likening it to jelly. The two kiss passionately and embrace each other. The two share a bed together. The following morning, Gordon is contacted by Grayson who reminds him that he is late for his shift. He gets the computer to save the simulation before rushing to work. Gordon apologizes for screwing up and Grayson reminds him this is not a cruise ship. Bortus apologizes for eating gum, which is used as an addiction recovery aid. Act Nine Gordon receives a call from Laura but tells her he is busy and has to call her back later. Later, Grayson, Mercer, LaMarr, and Keyali discuss their experience with the simulation programme. Grayson says it was one of the strangest experiences in her life. Mercer asks what they can do about. LaMarr proposes blocking the programme until it stops affecting Gordon’s work. Gordon asks them what they think about Laura and it becomes clear that he is obsessed about her. Mercer and Grayson tell Gordon that they do not think the relationship is healthy. LaMarr points out that it is not real while Mercer likens it to their cowboy program and Bortus’s sex lagoon. Gordon disagrees and says that all those are programs written by them while Laura’s simulation comes from her personality, letters, photographs, and mannerisms. Gordon can’t believe that Laura is not real and raises the issue of Isaac being a robot. When Mercer disagrees, Gordon tells the Captain that Laura is the first person aboard this ship he has fallen in love with. Gordon mentions Mercer's tryst with a Krill woman but Mercer responds that she lied to him. Gordon gets permission to return to his post. Act Ten Meanwhile, Bortus returns to his quarters but can't find Klyden. He finds Klyden is smoking in Airlock 22. The two argue. Klyden says that it was only a cigarette but Klyden points out that Bortus has also been secretly smoking. Bortus acknowledges he has been stashing lots of cigarettes. The two promise to watch each other closely. Act Eleven Gordon returns to the environmental simulator to find that Laura has reconciled with her ex-boyfriend Greg. Laura introduces Greg to Gordon. Laura says that she was going to call him. Laura feels bad and asks if Gordon wants to sit down. Gordon asks her to tell the truth. Laura tells Gordon that she and Greg have decided to work things off. Gordon makes remarks about going to a rodeo but denies he is angry. Laura offers Gordon an olive leaf of friendship. Later, Gordon confides about his breakup with LaMarr in the mess. Gordon is upset that he did not read the messages and calls showing that Laura and Greg had reconciled. LaMarr says he has never been dumped and that a woman in a former relationship still invited him over for sexual intercourse. LaMarr reassures Gordon that it was for the better because he was living in a simulated reality. Gordon drinks some alcohol. Gordon returns to the simulation room and asks the computer to delete Greg. He then enters Macy's and finds Laura at the counter. Gordon learns that Laura is being promoted. He tries to invite her out for pasta but learns that her boyfriend has invited her out. Gordon learns that his deletion has confused Laura into wondering which boyfriend she is going out with: Greg, Justin, and Andrew. Laura asks if she could buy a ticket on one of his flights. Gordon says on the condition that he can sing with her. Laura declines because she is not comfortable singing in public and has to maintain standards as a manager. Gordon suspends the simulation and asks the computer to restore the deleted data. While the computer restores the data, Gordon decides to make peace and leave Laura. Act Twelve Later, Commander Grayson checks on Gordon. Mercer has told her what happened. Gordon realizes that Greg was the one who inspired Laura to sing. Grayson reveals that Mercer taught her how to do an eye trick and asks Gordon to imagine how it would be like if someone deleted Mercer from her memories. Grayson explains that humans are social animals who are born as blind slates who span and grow as a result of external stimuli. She explains that everyone is shaped by the totality of their relationship and that we can’t pick and choose. Gordon is worried about not finding someone. Grayson explains that people have been living and dying for most of human existence. She reassures Gordon that Laura is special because she reached across four centuries to find love with a guy. Act Thirteen Meanwhile, Bortus and Klyden argue over dinner. The argument descends into a physical fight and the two end up smashing the table and dishes. Dr Finn steps in and demands to know what is going on. She tells them that she has just finished formulating the injections. Act Fourteen Later, Gordon watches Laura singing in a pub. He sings with her and the two sing That's All I Got To Say. The crowd including Greg clap. Greg hugs Laura. Gordon compliments Greg and tells Laura that he has come to say goodbye because he has gotten a job offer to test a new aircraft design. He tells Laura that he leaves tomorrow. Laura asks if they can keep in touch. Gordon reassures her she will never be forgotten. Laura tells her about the time capsule. The two take a photo as the credits roll. Production Lasting Impressions was written by showrunner Seth MacFarlane probably in late 2017 who wanted Gordon, the confident bachelor of Season 1, to develop a deeper desire for companionship. As actor Scott Grimes (Gordon) put it: He’s struggling to find a relationship. All these people around him are in love and he just hasn’t had that much luck. He does find somebody this season. I can’t wait for everyone to see it because it’s heartfelt and it’s true, but yet it’s heartbreaking as well because of the circumstances.''Frederick, Brittany. "The Orville’s Scott Grimes goes on a new adventure in Season 2". Fansided. Jan. 25, 2019. ''Lasting Impressions is unusual in that, unlike other episodes of the season, it was rarely discussed by cast and crew. Grimes briefly mentioned it at the 2018 San Diego Comic-ConSteinberg, Lisa. "Scott Grimes & J. Lee - The Orville - SDCC 2018". YouTube. July 22, 2018. and again in a January 10, 2019, interview,Radish, Christina. "Scott Grimes on ‘The Orville’ Season 2’s Bigger Scope and Working with Seth MacFarlane". Collider. Jan. 10, 2019. but for the most part, the episode went unnoticed leading up to the premiere. The title was publicly announced on January 14, 2019.The Orville. Fox Sweden. Last accessed Jan. 14, 2019. Meester's character of Laura was revealed on February 28, 2019.Listings - ORVILLE, THE. The Futon Critic. Last accessed Feb. 28, 2019. Trivia * On the wall inside Macy's is a sign for a designer company B Fayette, a nod to the show's digital effects supervisor Brandon Fayette. * Upon starting up, Laura's phone displays the time and date as 1:43 on Saturday, March 21. ** This means that Laura probably donated her phone on March 21, 2015, as that date was indeed a Saturday while March 21, 2421, would be a Sunday. * Dozens of Laura's texts can be read if one pauses the screen, including: ** A group of people who are plainly upset that Laura left Greg, ** A man named Grayson telling her to "send nudes," ** Another man named Jorge admitting he is "still not over ," ** Several friends talking about possibly moving to Los Angeles, California, ** A reference to Facebook about a message probably posted by Greg. * The time capsule and its contents are en route to the Delta Pavonis Museum. In reality, Delta Pavonis is a star in the Pavo constellation only 19.22 light years away. ** As the Orville's top flight speed was established at over 10 light years per hour,Episode 1x05: Pria the star is less than a day's journey from Earth. * The phone numbers listed in the episode are speculated to be "Joe Menosky" numbers. Menosky, a writer on The Orville, is credited with introducing the number 47 as an in-joke to his work. The idea originated during his time at Pomona College, where a mathematics professor gained a certain degree of infamy for jokingly "proving" all numbers are equal to 47.47 (number). Wikipedia. Last accessed August 19, 2018. ** The phone number on the rotary phone is 867-4706. ** Laura's phone number is (838) 555-0146, which is 4 and 0+1+6 = 7. * In addition to Laura's phone, the Saratoga Springs time capsule contains: A soft pack of cigarettes, bottle of Five Hour Energy, a baseball cap, a copy of (not a real issue), a music album, for the , a candy bar, an empty can of , a tin of , a promotional t-shirt for the 20th Century Fox film (which was released in 2014), a copy of (published in 2011), a box of Double Stuff'' s, a and $1.02 in change, a , a menu for a local pizza chain, a menu for The Hungry Diner,'' a compact fluorescent light bulb, a blue model hatchback, a birthday card, pink thong sandals, a copy of Us Magazine (from January 8, 2015), and the studio album 25 by artist Adele (released in November 2015). ** The Hungry Diner is a farm-to-table restaurant in Walpole, New Hampshire, about two and a quarter hours away from Saratoga Springs. References *Gordon mentions two earlier Environmental Simulator programs: **Ed enjoys a "cowboy program" in the episode ''About a Girl''. **Bortus' "sex lagoon" is from Primal Urges. *Gordon says Ed "banged" a Krill, referring to Teleya. *Laura's song, "That's All I've Got to Say," was originally written by Jimmy Webb and performed by the band America for the movie The Last Unicorn. *According to Claire, tobacco smoking died out years before; Command Performance indicated that smoking of the recreational drug marijuana is still practised (or at least it was at the time Ed and Kelly were dating). Mistakes * Laura gives Gordon her phone number written on a simulated napkin. The napkin persists even after Gordon leaves the Environmental Simulator room when it should have disappeared. * Laura's phone has wi-fi and cell signal connectivity after John restarts it. * While not a strict writing error, in this episode, Ed uses military time casually and seems irritated when Trisha asks if that is a "hipster thing;" but in ''If the Stars Should Appear'', Ed is unfamiliar with military time to the point where Kelly has to tell him that 1300 hours is 1:00 p.m. * The crew's apparent lack of awareness of early 21st-century culture and habits, including cigarette smoking, seems at odds with their demonstrated knowledge up to this point. Many of the items in the time capsule, particularly the cigarettes, would have been familiar because of their fascination with classic television,E.g., the crew watches Seinfeld in Episode 1x05: Pria and Gordon references American Idol in Episode 1x07: Majority Rule. movies,E.g., Gordon, Bortus, and John watch Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in Episode 1x03: About a Girl; Ed says he was raised on classic movies like The King and I in Episode 2x04: Nothing Left on Earth Excepting Fishes. and period Environmental Simulator programs.Grayson programmed a simulation set in 1945 America in Episode 2x07: Deflectors. Cast Main cast * Seth MacFarlane as Capt. Ed Mercer * Adrianne Palicki as Cmdr. Kelly Grayson * Peter Macon as Lt. Cmdr. Bortus * J. Lee as Lt. Cmdr. John LaMarr * Jessica Szohr as Lt. Talla Keyali * Penny Johnson Jerald as Dr. Claire Finn * Scott Grimes as Lt. Gordon Malloy * Mark Jackson as Isaac Special guest cast * Leighton Meester as Laura Huggins * Tim Russ as Doctor Sherman Recurring cast * Chad L. Coleman as Klyden * Norm Macdonald as Yaphit * Rachael MacFarlane as Computer Guest cast * Darri Ingolfsson as Greg * Sarah Scott as Trisha * Ajay Vidure as Karl * Stacy Highsmith as Melissa * Chris Muto as Male Guest Uncredited * Jeff Jocoy as Party Guest * Brandon Fayette as Party Guest References